


One Foot Wrong

by ThisIsWar



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Cheating, Claustrophobia, F/M, Kissing, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Scott is a bit of a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-14
Packaged: 2018-04-14 01:31:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4545021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisIsWar/pseuds/ThisIsWar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isaac plans a surprise for Scott, and receives a rather unpleasant one instead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. So What

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a huge fan of Scott's, but I hope you enjoy... This is my first work and is also unbetaed... Constructive criticism is appreciated...

Isaac grinned as he thought of the surprise he had planned for Scott for their one year anniversary. After asking Stiles for help in choosing something, he had bought a bracelet with a small, steel wolf pendant on a leather cord, and Stiles had helped him buy and cook all of Scott's favourite foods.  
He was a bit surprised that Stiles had agreed to help when asked, but Stiles had seemed more than happy to help.  
Isaac briefly considered sending Scott a text to tell him to head over to the McCall house, but then decided to get there first and surprise him with the (not so) small feast and the bracelet.  
As Isaac approached the house, he stopped, smelling a familiar scent. He strained his ears to hear who Scott was talking to, and felt the blood drain from his face as he heard the soft moans and gasps of Allison, accompanied by the familiar grunts of Scott.  
Isaac turned around and started sprinting without thinking of where he was going. He could hear a rushing in his ears and his rapid heartbeat which had nothing to do with the running. He stopped running and realised he was in front of Stiles' house. He listened for sounds of anyone at home and heard Stiles clicking a pen. The sheriff was probably at the station, considering it was four in the afternoon.  
He climbed up the side of the house and tapped on Stiles' window. Isaac would probably have laughed at Stiles' shocked jump if he wasn't so close to tears.  
"Isaac? What's wrong? Where's Scott?"  
Isaac opened his mouth but couldn't say anything. He climbed through the window and into Stiles' room and stood just in front of the window, staring at the floor around Stiles' feet.  
"Isaac? Shouldn't you be at Scott's making dinner?"  
"Stop saying his name!" Isaac whispered.  
Stiles' mouth dropped open for a moment, and he seemed to be struggling to find something to say. Finally, he found the words he had been searching for, "What did he do?"  
Dragging his gaze away from Stiles' feet and towards his face, Isaac drew in a deep breath and let it out again slowly. "He's currently fucking Allison."  
Stiles flinched at the total lack of emotion in Isaac's voice. "Are you sure?"  
"I heard them, Stiles! I could smell them! There was no mistaking those sounds..."  
Stiles lifted his arms and then dropped them again, in a type of helpless shrug. "I'm sorry, Isaac. I am so, so sorry."  
"Did you know?" asked Isaac. "Did you know about them?"  
Stiles held his gaze for a moment, and then looked away.  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Isaac yelled. "Why would you help me with all those preparations and then let me find them like that? What's wrong with you, Stiles?" Isaac stopped and seemed to crumple in on himself. "Do I mean that little to you, that you wouldn't even warn me?"  
Stiles' gaze snapped back to Isaac's face. "Of course not! I didn't want to hurt you with unfounded accusations. I didn't know for sure if there was anything going on between them, and I wanted to give Scott a chance to explain himself. I was going to ask him about it tomorrow."  
Isaac let out a bitter laugh. "It's a bit late for that now though, isn't it?"  
"I think we should ask him, and give him a chance to explain himself," said Stiles, shaking his head.  
"Fine," Isaac sighed. "But you're calling him."  
"Fine," agreed Stiles. He took out his phone and dialled Scott's number. "Hey, Scott? Could you come over for a minute? I really need to talk to you. It's important."  
Isaac heard Scott's promise to be there in ten minutes and watched Stiles hang up. He let out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding and looked at Stiles' face. Stiles smiled weakly at him.  
"Do you want to talk about it before he gets here?" Stiles asked.  
"Not particularly. I guess I knew he would leave eventually. Everyone does..." Isaac's voice faded away.  
"That's not true!" Stiles said indignantly.  
"Isn't it? My mom, my brother, Erica, Boyd. Why not Scott as well? When are you going to leave, Stiles?" Without his meaning to, tears had slid down Isaac's cheeks.  
Stiles took a few quick steps forward. "Never! I will never leave you alone, ever!"  
And suddenly, Isaac felt Stiles' soft lips pressed against his own. He froze, and felt Stiles draw back.  
"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking," Stiles babbled as his eyes scanned Isaac's face for his reaction.  
"What the hell, Stiles?" Isaac's eyes were wide as he tried to take in what had just happened.  
"Yeah, I'm sorry. Seriously! It won't happen again. I don't even know how it happened in the first pl-"  
Stiles was cut off as Isaac caught hold of his shirt and brought their lips crashing together again. Stiles curled his fingers through Isaac's hair as his tongue slipped between Isaacs lips and tasted the other boy's mouth.  
This time, it was Isaac who drew back apologetically. "That shouldn't have happened."  
Before Stiles could say anything, they heard Scott knocking on the front door.  
"I'll go let him in," said Stiles breathlessly.  
"Okay." Isaac suddenly felt guilty, and quite hypocritical.  
Stiles came back into his room with Scott just behind him.  
"Hi, Isaac," Scott sounded surprised. "What are you doing here? Oh."  
Isaac watched nervously as Scott's eyes widened with the realisation of what Stiles and Isaac had just been doing.  
"How could you do this, dude? On our anniversary?" Scott yelled, looking between the two of them.  
"Oh, that's rich, Scott. Especially coming from you!" Suddenly, Isaac didn't feel even remotely guilty about kissing Stiles.  
"What are you talking about?" Scott asked tiredly.  
"He's talking about you and Allison, Scott," interjected Stiles. "Even I figured it out, and I don't have super werewolf senses."  
Scott's face went pale. "I don't know what you're talking about," he stuttered.  
"Don't insult me, Scott! I heard you. I smelt you. Just twenty minutes ago. Please stop lying to me." Isaac felt deflated, and tired.  
Scott seemed to realise that there was no point lying any more. "Look, I'm sorry I hurt you. But Allison and I are meant to be together, and I can't stop it from happening. I never meant for you and I to go this far."  
Stiles looked at his best friend as though Scott had grown another head. "Are you serious? What is wrong with you? You knew that you wanted Allison, but still got into a supposedly committed relationship with Isaac? That sucks, man."  
"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds horrible," Scott said, looking like he'd suddenly realised the gravity of the problem.  
"That's because it is, Scott!" Isaac roared. He just wanted the whole thong to be over with now. "I'm going to go and stay with Derek for a while. Please don't come looking for me, either of you."  
And just like that he jumped out of the window and took off at a sprint towards the forest, leaving Stiles and Scott to stare disbelievingly after him.


	2. It's All Your Fault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isaac, Stiles, and Scott all handle the aftermath of the day's events differently...

Isaac was dreaming. He knew this wasn't real, but still he struggled against his father's vice-like grip on his arms. 

"Let go! I'm sorry I failed the test. I'll do better next time. Please!" he pleaded.

"Shut the hell up!" his father yelled, and slapped him across the face. "One more word out of you, and you won't come out of there for a week," he hissed.

Isaac choked back a sob. "Please," he whimpered as his father forced him into the freezer. "Please."

Isaac felt the terror rising inside of him like a wave as the lid of the freezer closed over him. He took a deep breath to try and control the panic rising inside of him until he couldn't control himself anymore and began to scratch and claw at the inside of the freezer. He tried to scream, but it sounded muffled, even to his own ears. 

He jolted upright, gasping for breath while he fumbled around near the side of his bed, looking for the light switch. He found it and a warm glow flooded his small room, highlighting Derek standing by the door.

"Jeez, Derek! Hasn't anyone ever told you it's really creepy when you sneak up on people?"

"I didn't sneak up on you, I heard you thrashing around. You haven't had a nightmare for a while, Isaac," Derek began softly. "What brought this on?"

Isaac rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands while he searched for some way of (politely) asking his alpha to leave.

"Isaac. If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to, but something is distressing you enough to trigger your nightmares again, and I'm worried about you."

"That's only because I make the pack weak," spat out Isaac.

Derek looked shocked and stood silently for a moment and then sighed as he sat down on Isaac's mattress. "You know that's not true," he said gently.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I've just had a really bad day," Isaac mumbled.

"It's fine, but try and get some sleep before school tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure thing," Isaac replied, only slightly sarcastically.

***

When he could hear that Isaac was asleep, Derek dialled Stiles' number.

"Hello?" Stiles mumbled sleepily after only two rings.

"Stiles. We need to talk about Isaac. How about tomorrow? I'll meet you at the school."

"He's there? That's good." 

Stiles was silent for a while, and Derek wondered if he had fallen asleep on the other end.

"Stiles! Are you still there?"

"Wha- Derek? You know it's two o'clock in the morning, right. I should be sleeping. I need all the beauty sleep I can get!" 

"Stiles shut up for a minute and listen. Do you know what Isaac's so upset about?"

Derek heard Stiles' breathing speed up a little bit and knew he was about to be lied to.

"Nope. Not a clue. Sorry. Look, I really should go back to sleep so that I can actually function like a human being tomorrow. I'll talk to you then, goodnight!"

Derek looked at his phone with mild irritation as it flashed the call disconnected message at him. What was going on? Why was Stiles acting so strangely?

***

Stiles stared guiltily at his phone and then switched it off before Derek could call back. 

"How the hell am I going to face him tomorrow?" he asked his ceiling. As usual, it didn't respond. "I just don't understand what was going through Scott's mind. I mean, I know he can be a bit slow sometimes, but still."

Stiles almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a tapping on his window. He looked over and saw Scott.

"What are you doing here, Scott?"

Scott just looked at him through the window until Stiles eventually sighed and opened the window.

"I was being serious earlier, Scott. That was a totally dick move earlier. It was even worse than when you made out with Lydia."

"I know," Scott looked at him with wide eyes.

"Don't look at me like that," Stiles snapped. "Just tell me one thing, how long has this been going on, with Allison I mean?"

Scott looked down at the floor. "Not too long. A couple of months maybe?"

Stiles stared at him with his mouth hanging open. "A couple of months? Do you have any idea how this has affected Isaac?"

Anger flashed through Scott's eyes, "Well, I don't mean to sound cruel, but everyone has to go through break ups. I survived when Allison broke up with me."

Stiles breathed slowly through his nose. "You then started sleeping with her again, while you already had a boyfriend! You know what Isaac's been through, with his dad and everything. Are you really so stupid you can't figure out that he will see this as his fault?" he was yelling now. "Jesus, Scott. You make so many personal sacrifices for all of us, but this? This was a monumental screw up."

Scott looked pale. "I didn't think. I just... With Allison, it feels like everything will be okay in the end, like everything will sort itself out. I just didn't have that with Isaac."

"So you slept with her behind his back? Classy, Scott. Really nice. You should have told him months ago!"

"Why are you so angry with me? He's free now, he's single. I know you like him. I can smell it on you almost every time his name is mentioned."

Stiles ran a hand through his hair. "Do you not think Isaac should get an opinion in this, Scott? He's not just some toy that you can play with and then pass along to your friends! I think you've done enough damage for today," He turned his back to Scott. "I'd like you to leave now."

"I was just going," Scott muttered and ducked out the open window.

Stiles threw himself on his bed and sighed. "That could have gone better, couldn't it?" he asked his empty room. As usual, silence was his only reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, unbetaed. Let me know what you think...


	3. I Don't Believe You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of the following say at school...

Stiles sat in his Jeep, staring out of the windscreen and at the school as he tried to work up the nerve to go inside and face Isaac and Scott. He sighed and started tapping his fingers against the steering wheel in an uneven rhythm to try and distract himself. There was a loud knock on the passenger door, and Stiles looked up to see Derek giving him a death glare through the window. He opened the door and Derek climbed into the Jeep, not taking his eyes off Stiles.

"Look, before you say anything, or start hitting me, I did not do anything to Isaac. In fact, I was barely involved in the whole thing."

Derek kept glaring. "I don't care what you did, Stiles. I want to know who hurt Isaac, and I want to know how."

Stiles met his glare evenly. "Does Isaac want you to know?" he asked. "Because I'm not sure it's my place to tell you his problems."

"You're not sure if it's your place? Since when have you felt uncomfortable with getting involved with other people's problems? Did you know that he woke up screaming last night? He hasn't had one of his nightmares for months, and you don't think it's 'your place' to tell me why their starting up again? I don't believe you."

Stiles looked down at his hands, which were fidgeting with his jeans. "I didn't know about the nightmares, but I thought it would have some sort of effect on him." Stiles took a deep breath, "Isaac found out yesterday, on his and Scott's one year anniversary, that Scott has been cheating on him with Allison."

"What!" Derek's eyes glowed a dangerous shade of red. "Why would Scott do something like that?"

"Okay, Derek? Calm down, please... My Jeep's kind of fragile compared to the whole werewolf thing... Oh, and Scott said that he and Allison were soul mates or something!" he added, prompted by Derek's glare.

Derek breathed out slowly, and then back in again. "You're keeping something from me, I can hear your heartbeat. What else happened yesterday?"

Stiles shifted a little in his seat and mumbled something that was barely audible, even to Derek's ears; "I, might of, uh, kissed him."

"You did what?" Derek exploded. "What the hell is wrong with the teenagers at this school? You're all either supernatural creatures, controlling supernatural creatures, or, in your case especially, just incredibly stupid. Do you have any idea how confusing that would have been for Isaac? Did you even think?"

"No I didn't," Stiles whispered. "I'll look for Isaac now, and I'll apologise," he said desperately.

"No, you won't," muttered Derek. "Stay away from Isaac. I'll find him and try to fix the damage the two of you caused."

***

"Stupid teenagers," Derek growled under his breath while he tried to find Isaac's scent. "Can't control their hormones, can't control the shift..." he trailed off as he finally found the scent he'd been searching for.

Isaac was on the lacrosse field, staring at his hands.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" Derek asked, flashing one of his rare smiles to show he was joking.

"Nah, it's Chemistry with Harris. I'd rather skip it."

"Stiles told me what happened yesterday, Isaac, all of it. You know it wasn't your fault, that you did nothing wrong," Derek said gently.

"Yeah, of course it's nothing to do with me. Have you noticed that, out of almost everyone who leaves Beacon Hills, the only common denominator is me? It's like I'm supposed to be alone, a true omega," Isaac spat out.

"That's not true. You're pack, and that's all there is to it. People leave, Isaac, but some people are also always going to stay. I'm still here, Stiles is still here, and no matter how hard I try, we can't get rid of Peter," Derek added, and was gratified with a half smile from Isaac.

"I guess. Is Stiles ever going to talk to me again? I think I may have pushed him away."

"Stiles will be fine. You know he can't resist irritating everyone within a two mile radius. Speaking of Stiles, do you want me to go and talk to Scott?"

"That depends," said Isaac, "will Scott survive that 'talk'?"

"I'm actually offended that you would even ask me that!" Derek said in mock indignation. "No, but seriously, would you like me to say something to him?"

"It's okay. I'd rather do it myself, you know? Fight my own battles and all that crap."

"As long as you're okay with that, you know I'll help in any way I can. Just say the word," said Derek with a shrug, "by the way, I'd talk to Stiles if I were you. I think he's worried that he's frightened you away."

"That's ridiculous!" snorted Isaac, then seeing Derek's raised eyebrow, he added, "Okay, I'll talk to him at lunch. If that's alright with you?" he said sarcastically.

"With that attitude, you definitely deserve to suffer through Harris' class! I'll see you later, yeah?"

"See you later, Derek." Isaac stood up, stretched, and then started walking towards the school building. "Thanks," he said softly, knowing that Derek could still hear him.

"No problem," came the quiet reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably drawing to a close. I'm guessing there are about two or three more chapters in this thing. Truth be told, this story has gone way off from what I originally had planned... Anyway, hope you enjoyed!


	4. Please Don't Leave Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of the day at school. Isaac talks to both Stiles and Scott.

Isaac shuffled through the crowd of people waiting to get into the cafeteria for lunch. Truth be told, he was a bit nervous about going into a room where he would have to face both Stiles and Scott, not to mention all of Scott's friends, who would most likely support him through any disagreements. He looked over at the table where Scott could usually be found, and was astonished to find it empty apart from Stiles. 

Stiles looked up and saw Isaac. He cleared his throat and beckoned Isaac over. "So, Derek said I should talk to you, and fix the damage that I caused," Stiles said.

Isaac stiffened and, much to Stiles' dismay, his face became impassive. "I don't need fixing," he said through gritted teeth.

"No! Isaac, I didn't mean that. I meant about the kiss!" Stiles hissed. "I shouldn't have done that. I was totally taking advantage of you while you were upset, you may have even been in shock."

"If I remember correctly, I kissed you back," Isaac said, cocking his head to one side. "And, to be honest, if I was in shock, you probably shocked me out of it again." He smirked at Stiles' bewildered face. "Don't worry, I knew what I was doing. I'm not that fragile, you know."

"I know that, I just... I shouldn't have done it," muttered Stiles. "What are you going to do about Scott?"

"Well, I suppose we have to officially split up, even if it is pretty much a given. Where is he anyway?" Isaac added, scanning the room for Scott, or any one of his friends.

"I asked him to give us a minute to talk. I may have given the impression I was going to calm you down before the two of you came to blows or wolfed out in the middle of the school day."

"I'm okay. Honestly, it's a bit of a relief to be out of the relationship. I was starting to think it was slightly one sided. Turns out I was right," Isaac sighed.

Stiles gaped at him. "You mean you're not angry, or hurt?"

Isaac's eyes flashed yellow, "Of course I'm hurt, Stiles! And I'm angry because I'm hurt, but I can't exactly lay all the blame at his door. I know that I have to be a difficult partner, even in a friendship! Imagine what I'm like in a romantic relationship. I have a lot of baggage, and no one should have to deal with that."

"I'm sorry, but that's a load of crap. Scott knew about your history before he got involved with you. He walked into this relationship with both eyes wide open. You are a person with a history. Everyone has some sort of history, and our history is what makes each one of us unique. Your history doesn't make you damaged, it shows how strong you are for getting through everything your father put you through. Scott's an idiot, and so is Allison."

"Thanks, Stiles," Isaac smiled. "I think I needed that," he said after a pause. "Oh, speak of the devil."

Scott walked up to the table with his backpack over one shoulder. "Can I talk to you?" he asked Isaac.

"Yeah, sure," Isaac replied, looking directly at his face.

Scott dropped his gaze, "Alone?"

Isaac looked at Stiles, who shrugged back. "No, I quite like having Stiles' support in this actually."

"Okay," Scott said. "Look, Isaac, I'm really sorry for what I did. I can't take it back, and I'm sure I can't make it better, but I can work on it. If you give me the chance to prove myself, I-"

"How, Scott?" Isaac interrupted. "I'm not taking you back, if that's what you're asking, because you'll just go back to Allison. I think we can definitively say there's nothing between us anymore. Face it, Scott, you can't always be everyone's hero. Just forget about it, okay?"

Scott's gaze snapped back to Isaac's face, "You're not mad at me?"

"Yes, I am mad at you, Scott. I'm hurt, and angry, and I really want to hate you at the moment, but I can't. I just don't have the energy for it. Please, at least for the next few days if you can help it, stay away from me."

"Alright." Scott swallowed. "Isaac? I really am sorry."

"Just go, Scott, please."

"Scott, get out of here!" Stiles snapped when he saw Scott was about to say something else.

Scott looked at Stiles, held his gaze for a moment, then sighed and walked away, shaking his head.

"Thanks," Isaac whispered. "I'm not sure I had much more patience for that conversation. Didn't sleep well last night."

"I heard about that," Stiles said, "Would you like to stay at mine tonight? I'm not sure what the situation is with Derek and Peter, but I can offer a hot meal and a real bed for the night, if you'd like that."

"You don't want that, Stiles. I might wake up screaming, which will wake you and your dad up, and I'd rather not make the sheriff grumpy from lack of sleep."

"It's actually fine, my dad has the night shift today, so you won't wake him up, and I don't sleep very heavily anyway. Come on, we can watch a movie, talk, pretend to do some homework but actually just procrastinate... You have to admit, I'm making it sound tempting," Stiles said with a grin.

"Very," Isaac laughed. "I'll check with Derek, but it should be okay. Thanks."

"No problem," said Stiles, and then he walked away whistling.

Isaac took out his phone and sent Derek a text; Is it ok if I stay with Stiles tonight?

He got a reply almost immediately; That's fine. Enjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitely coming to the end. I forgot the disclaimer, so better late than never... I do not own any of the rights or characters of Teen Wolf.


	5. This Is How It Goes Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isaac stays with Stiles overnight, and the boys help each other to heal.

"So, Isaac, how are you adjusting to living with Derek?" the sheriff asked while Stiles was clearing the dishes from the table.

"Dad, do you want to leave the interrogation for a different time, like, never?" Stiles interjected before Isaac could answer.

Isaac laughed. "No, it's fine. Derek's actually really nice once you get past the death glares. He's very protective. He's a bit like an older brother, a bit like Camden was."

"That's good," said the sheriff. "I'm glad you have a roof over your head again."

"Dad! Don't you have a job to go to?" Stiles practically yelped.

"Sorry," the sheriff shrugged. "It's a habit. When you spend all your time worrying about your own juvenile delinquent, you tend to shift the paternal concern to other kids as well." 

He smiled fondly at Stiles. "Well, I'll leave you two to it, don't stay up too late, Stiles. I don't want you to be comatose throughout tomorrow, okay?"

Stiles looked at his father innocently, "Would I stay up late? I'm hurt you would even suggest it."

The sheriff just sighed. "Sleep well, kid. You too, Isaac."

"Thanks, Mr Stilinski."

***

Stiles had insisted on a game of rock, paper, scissors to decide who won the bed and who got the blow up mattress. Isaac suspected that Stiles had let him win, but he wasn't entirely sure if it was actually possible to cheat at the game, so he wasn't sure how Stiles could have done it. They were now each on their respective mattresses, talking about their homework that they still hadn't done.

"Harris is actually evil. He's trying to bury me in homework, I'm sure of it," Stiles complained.

"Allison came to talk to me today," Isaac said.

"Wait, what? Total change of subject. What did she say? Because she owes you the world's biggest freaking apology of all time, ever!" Stiles returned.

"She was quite mature actually, which was a nice change. She apologised, and told me that she knew what they were doing was wrong. She said that she understood if I couldn't forgive them, and that she would try to give me whatever I need to get past it, whether that's space, time, or just avoiding me completely."

"I still can't believe how calmly you're taking all this. Why are you being so understanding about this whole situation? If it were me, I'd be destroying furniture, and I'm only human!"

"I meant what I said earlier, Stiles. Hating people takes too much energy. If I waste all of myself hating them, I won't like what I'll become. Hate is an emotion that can change you, which I learnt from my father, and I don't ever want to be like him, ever."

Stiles reached up and gripped Isaac's hand. "You're nothing like him, and you never will be, do you understand?" 

"Thanks, Stiles."

"No problem. You know, you can always come to me and talk, if you're struggling, right? Seriously, I'm quite a good listener, when I'm not suffering from verbal diarrhoea..." 

Isaac lay quietly for a while, until he heard Stiles' breathing slow down. "Thank you, Stiles. I may take you up on that one day," he murmured.

Stiles smiled sleepily.

***

Isaac woke to a soft whimpering sound. He looked down at Stiles and saw that he was grimacing and protesting softly. 

"No, please, leave me alone. Stop, please!" Stiles was mumbling under his breath.  
Isaac could hear his heart rate increasing, and briefly wondered what he should do. He'd never been on the other end of night terrors before. He thought about what made it easier for him, and then got out of his bed to lie next to Stiles on his mattress.

"Stiles, wake up. It's just a dream," he said, touching Stiles gently on his arm.

Stiles' eyes shot open and he sat up gasping and blinking back tears. Isaac pulled him close to his chest, so that Stiles' ear was against his slow, even heartbeat.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Isaac.

"Has that ever helped you?"

"I don't know, I've never told anyone about what's in my dreams," Isaac replied honestly. "How about this, I'll tell you something about my dreams, and then you tell me something about yours. Sound good?"

"Okay," said Stiles, his pulse already slowing down.

"Usually, my dreams are about my dad, when he would beat me up or throw things at me. On really bad nights, it's him locking me in the freezer and me being helpless to stop him. Funnily enough, those dreams have almost gotten worse since I became a werewolf, because now I dream that I'm locked in some sort of cage, like the freezer, and that all of my friends are in danger, and I can't help them, no matter how hard I try to escape, I'm just a scared boy again, and there's nothing I can do."

"Wow," whispered Stiles. "Well, now my dreams are going to sound really gentle in comparison. Every single night since Jackson killed himself on the lacrosse field, I dream about being beaten up by Gerard while Erica and Boyd watched. I feel useless, because I know that, even though I'm the one being beaten up, it's not about me. Gerard is doing it to send a message to Scott and Derek. To tell them that he's not sticking to the code anymore, and that their friends are collateral damage. But then some nights I dream that it's not me being beaten up. It's Derek, or Boyd, or you... And I feel ashamed because I'm relieved that he's moved on from me, that he's found someone else to torment, and that's wrong. 

There's something wrong with me."

"There's nothing wrong with you, Stiles. Your reactions are normal. Your dreams are just your subconscious, telling you that, if it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else, which shows that it wasn't your fault. Gerard was a sick man, in more ways than one, and you are not to blame for that."

"Thanks, Isaac. I appreciate the support," Stiles said bitterly, "but you and I both know that 'my subconscious' is trying to find someone else to blame for the beating, as though someone else should have received it from Gerard because I wasn't the one who did something wrong. I'm just trying to shift the blame," he sighed.

"No, you're not," Isaac said firmly. "Stiles, you're one of the strongest people I know, and you've got to stop blaming yourself for this."

"I don't need your pity, Isaac."

Isaac sighed. "Fine," he said. He took Stiles' head between his hands and raised it so that their faces were level. They looked at each other for a few moments and then Isaac moved his head forward slowly, giving Stiles time to back away. Stiles stayed where he was until Isaac's lips brushed his in a chaste kiss. "I don't pity you, Stiles," Isaac said, his lips millimetres away from Stiles'.

Stiles leaned in for another kiss, and that's how they spent the next couple of hours, holding and kissing each other until they both slept soundly. 

***

The following day, Isaac realised that, no matter how this turned out, they had both managed to get past major obstacles in their psyches, which left room for healing. And if they helped each other along the way, well, that could only increase the likelihood of a full recovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's finished I guess. Thanks for making it all the way through, and let me know what you thought.  
> Some of you may have noticed all the titles came from P!nk's album, Funhouse.


End file.
